Bloodline
Chapter 12 - Breaking the Rules
Twilight was stunned by Light Chaser's changed appearance. Her jaw hung fully agape and her eyes were locked upon the dark charm around his neck. “Light, is this really you?”
Slowly, her eyes wandered over him. His crystal body was tainted by the amulet of the Dark Alicorn. Light extended his wings and carefully soared in a circular pattern down the hall. His hooves touched the ground gently next to Trixie. “Nice to see you again, Twilight.”
Completely overwhelmed, the Princesses stepped out of their hiding spot as well. Trixie wasn't prepared to find such hard resistance. It was obvious that Twilight would be here, but the Princesses are a whole different piece of cake. “The Great and Powerful Trixie has to admit that I hoped to avoid three out of four alicorns, but we are still going to win!”
The loud noise of another set of four hooves was audible behind the Twilight and the Princesses. Nopony notice her, except Light Chaser. He already stared at her with a smug smile on his face. “So the fourth alicorn will stay in our way as well.”
The kind and caring Princess Cadence couldn't be recognized in this very moment. Her expression was harsh and the lack of mercy would cause everypony to shiver. “Not only are the Princesses here to stop you and these foolish ponies, but Shining Armor is surrounding the castle with the Royal Guard right now . There is no way to escape from here. We trapped you inside our castle. None of you will even come close to the fragment!”
Dark magic slowly originated from the sinister charm and interacted with Light Chaser's eyes. A thin path of black particles led upstairs, passed Princess Cadence and made its way until it was out of sight. Light Chaser's grin became even bigger when he understood what this could mean. “I guess you hid the fragment somewhere upstairs? I will just go where the most guards are stationed. They will lead me there.”
His wings swung open and a massive wing flap lifted him into the air. He already hovered over Twilight's head when she screamed. “Rainbow Dash! Get him to the ground!”
A cyan blur shot from the ceiling down and aimed for the crystal pony's back. She missed him only merely, but Rainbow kept being stubborn and followed him as fast as she could. The Princesses used the general confusion and froze the ponies at the spot. Only Trixie could manage to dodge the magical ambush, when she jumped as far forward as she could manage. Unfortunately, she landed just in front of Twilight's hooves. Trixie's entire body began to shake violently when she felt the magic of all Princesses charging up again.
Slowly, she turned her gaze up to meet Twilight's. Completely stunned by the overwhelming power of the alicorns she could only wait. Twilight bent down and silently whispered into her ear. “Are there any last words before we throw you into the dungeon?”
Twilight could clearly see the fright in Trixie's eyes, but there was something different as well. Her attitude changed and a devilish smile formed upon her lips. “You are so full of yourself that you hadn’t noticed at all, right? Your foolishness will bring the downfall of Equestria!”
A single thought raced like lightning through Twilight's mind. She turned around and looked at the other Princesses. “This is a set-up!”
Even before they realized what was actually going on, they were already caught underneath a dome of magic. Twilight looked hastily around her surroundings, but her eyes came finally to a halt upon Trixie's horn. “What have you done? You are not using your magic, Trixie! How are you doing this?”
Trixie began to laugh maniacally, she got back to her hooves, but never stopped laughing during this process. “You are still too good-willed, Princesses! Remember the little filly that has entered the castle just before us? The Great and Powerful Trixie gave her the task to prepare a trap for you! I already thought that some ponies would be here, but I never would have thought that I would catch all alicorn Princesses at once!”
Princess Celestia stepped to Twilight's side. She had lost every bit of mercy in her expression. “Was it worth to be trapped here along with us? Even your subordinates are frozen and unable to move at all. Nopony is able to perform the resurrection spell anymore!”
Trixie had another time to laugh. “Seriously? You think that this was everything we got? Of course, you would set up some measures to stop us, but you would never distrust a small filly. All we have to do is to pour dragon blood over the fragment before Light Chaser touches it. The magic of the amulet will do the rest. It is foolproof, nothing will stop is now. He can't even betray us! He will definitely revive his father!”
Twilight bit at her lip, tears already ran down her cheeks. “Why? Why are you doing this? What is the purpose in reviving this cruel dictator?”
Trixie walked calmly from the right to the left side of the dome. “It is simple, King Sombra only appreciates pure ponies and the Great and Powerful Trixie is such a pony!”
Princess Cadence couldn't believe her ears. Slowly, she accompanied her aunts and sister-in-law and stared aghast at Trixie. “What leads a pony to such a conclusion? Do you know why Light Chaser was put in chains? He may still have had a heart since he didn't kill his own son, but King Sombra had collected unicorns and pegasi from every corner of the country just to molest, rape and kill them. King Sombra is a sick mind. He will kill you as well, Trixie”
Trixie finally snapped. “Stop talking nonsense to the Great and Powerful Trixie! King Sombra will make me his queen!”
Her body began to shake once more like before. Princess Luna came closer and laid her hoof upon Trixie's shoulder. “I'm sorry, Trixie. You've doomed all of us, it might as will become a hard fight. Many ponies might suffer, but nevertheless we will fight King Sombra back.”
Trixie slowly realized what she has done. With teary eyes, she looked at the Princesses. “The spell might sound simple, but it is more than that. It will empower King Sombra beyond everything known to ponykind. Nothing will stop him...”
The Princesses looked at each other in worry. Princess Celestia finally turned to Trixie again. “Can you open this dome?”
The tears were already flowing down her blue cheeks while she shook sadly her head. “No... I'm sorry...”
Princess Celestia turned around and looked at the end of the stairs. “In this case, we just have to trust Rainbow Dash that she will be able to stop him.”
Light Chaser could only make it around the third corner until Rainbow Dash caught up with him. She tossed him to the ground and brought herself between him and his path. Light Chaser hissed at the cyan mare. “What are you doing, Rainbow? I have to get rid of this fragment!”
Rainbow hovered in the air and tried to make her as big as possible. “I'm going to stop you! You... Wait? What?”
The crystal pegasus was still full with adrenaline and only waited to shot past Rainbow. “You don't understand anything. I'm not siding with Trixie! I want to get to the fragment as soon as possible to toss it into the Crystal Lake!”
Rainbow was more then confused. She tapped the ground gently with her hooves and searched for the right words, but Light Chaser didn’t have any time left to wait. “We can't lose any more time! Trixie might be already heading here! Will you help me?”
She blinked rapidly and looked at him in confusion, but she quickly regained her ability to speak and turned around. “Alright! Let's go! I've got a hunch that you are telling the truth. Do you know where it is?”
Light Chaser raced past Rainbow and didn't even look back. “I can see a small trace that will lead me there. We just have to follow it!”
Rainbow tailed Light Chaser. They passed several guards that are now following them as well. They ended up in a long hallway being followed by at least twenty guards. Rainbow turned her head around in slight concern. “Are you sure we can make it like that?”
Light Chaser's wings spread even further. In the distance he could see the end of the hallway. The trace ended at the surface of the wall. “Rainbow! The trace is ending at this wall. You might call it a guess, but I think we have to fly right through this wall!”
Rainbow lost a little bit distance to him. She wasn't sure if this was a good idea since a crystal wall is as hard as diamonds. “Are you sure? Maybe it is just around the corner?”
Light Chaser looked back at the unsure mare and noticed that the guards has lost track of them. “Follow me, if you trust me.”
The wall came closer and closer and Rainbow still wasn't sure what to do. Just mere feet from the wall she breathed calm and closed her eyes. “I do...”
Both pegasi closed their eyes for the spec of a second, right before they touch the wall. They expected a hard impact, but this one should never come. They opened their eyes and found themselves in a giant circular room. Only a small podium was placed in it's center. Dark magic pulsed around a small object that lay on a small pillow.
They slowed down immediately and walked carefully to his father's horn fragment. A red liquid was poured over it. Rainbow Dash cocked an eye. “This looks weird. Something is wrong here.”
Light Chaser ignored Rainbow Dash completely and attempted to grab the fragment. Rainbow turned her head and saw a small filly staying the way they had come from. The silly jumped into the crystal wall and disappeared. She spun around and wanted to warm him. “Light, stop! This is a trap!”
The moment Rainbow's words left her mouth, was the exact moment when Light Chaser touched the horn. The dark charm around his neck began to radiate a leash of magic swung around the horn. A bright explosion blinded them and left them stumbling to the ground.
Light Chaser slowly regained his sight. Light Chaser couldn't believe his eyes. He never saw him before, but Light was certain that the pony standing in front of him was his father, King Sombra.
The dark king looked carefully at his son. “If I only would have known that you will become something like this, I would never have locked you up in the first place.”
Light Chaser wasn't certain if the upcoming feelings originated from the charm around his neck or out of his inner. It wasn't a feeling of the love a son would feel for his father, but rage. “I'm not even interested how you come back, but now you are telling me that you might be proud of me? I have freed you, but this time I'm the one who will cage you!”
King Sombra shot him a smug smile. “Don't be so full of yourself, foal. Only because you made it into this room, it doesn't mean that you will ever leave it.”
Light Chaser flashed his teeth, his wings were fully expanded and ready to charge at him. “You are mistaken, you fool. You won't make it.”
The dark unicorn brushed a little bit of dust out of his mane and firmly sat down. “You're pathetic, my son. You know much less then you think. This room wasn't created by the Crystal Ponies or anypony else. This room was especially created by myself and the portal you just have crossed leads outside the castle.”
Rainbow looked in awe at King Sombra. “You mean we aren't even in the castle anymore?”
King Sombra got back to his hooves and headed to the little podium in the center of the room. “No, not even close. There is only one way to escape from here.”
Light Chaser simply cocked his eye. The dark king didn't even wait for verbal response. “You can only leave this room together with me.”
Light Chaser beat his wings down and charged at his father. He only missed him by mere inches. “You won't set a hoof outta here!”
Rainbow Dash watched both of them fighting. Never before had she hadto see two ponies fight for their lives. The spells of King Sombra repelled against the force of the amulet, but there still was no guarantee that Light Chaser would win. Light-headed, Rainbow decided to get some help and escaped through the portal which she came from. Her wings pounded harder and harder until she reached the entrance hall.
In Rainbow's terms, time has stopped for the blink of a second. She saw the Princesses being trapped together with Trixie under a magical dome. “Twilight!”
The Princesses looked up and saw Rainbow in the air. Even Trixie turned her gaze towards the loyal pegasus. For the first time her expression has changed to a happy one. “You! You have to find four little crystals that are stuck in the ground around us! This way the dome will disappear.”
Rainbow's eyes wandered around the room. Quickly, she had spotted all of the crystals and torn them out of the ground. The dome disappeared and the ponies were free. Twilight charged at Rainbow and pulled her into a bone-crashing hug. “Thank you, Rainbow!”
Rainbow pushed Twilight's hooves away. “Yeah, yeah. We don't have time for this now. Light Chaser is fighting against King Sombra and I don't know how long he will be able to stop him.”
Princess Celestia parted them and looked with determination at Rainbow. “Lead me there. I will stop him.”
Rainbow Dash gasped. “They’re are in some sort of enchanted room. We go into through a crystal wall. King Sombra said it isn't inside the castle at all.”
A small smile formed on Princess Cadence lips. “It might be outside and well-hidden, but I was the pony who stashed the fragment there, so I know where this room is.”
Princess Cadence charged her horn with magic and ripped the ponies out of reality. In the blink of a second they reappeared in a circular room and were facing the struggling ponies. None of them seemed to have the upper hoof. Both were badly beaten.
Twilight stepped forward, but stopped immediately when she spotted the dark amulet around Light Chaser's neck. “You... You are fighting him, even though you are wearing the amulet? But why?”
Light Chaser could only offer her a small smile. “Because, I never wanted to free Sombra in the first place. I wanted to sink the fragment deep into the Crystal Lake, but it went wrong and now this fraud is here.”
Simultaneously, Princess Luna and Princess Celestia stepped forward. The older of the sisters spoke first. “You won't escape from here, Sombra. You will be banished once more into the eternal northern ice.”
King Sombra smiled carelessly at the Princesses. “And how are you planning to do so?”
Coldly and without any hesitation, Princess Luna responded. “We will stop you like the last time. You are no harm to us in this state. The plans of your saviors had failed. You are as weak as you were before. There was no sense in bringing you back to life.”
The Princesses horns charged up with magic. The smug smile disappeared out of King Sombra's face as quickly as it came. He felt the tug of their magic becoming stronger and stronger with every passing second. A dark void is beginning to suck everything inside. The Princesses are standing firmly at the ground. Twilight held Trixie and Rainbow at the ground with help of her wings. They only stared as the dark king was about to be sucked into the shadows, but King Sombra was a stubborn one. He focused all of his might upon his horn and created tendrils of dark magic. They swung around Rainbow Dash and tore her along with him.
Light Chaser had a hard time to resist the powerful surge. From the corner of his eye he watched them getting closer to the shadows. His eyes rocketed back and forth until a certain conclusion came to his mind. He clipped the amulet off his neck and charged at his father.
The dark king lost his concentration and the tendrils broke. Father and son stumbled together towards the darkness. Only a second parted them from being devoured, but it seemed like this were the happiest seconds in his entire life. Before the Princesses could react, Light Chaser began to glow. The darkness inside him faded and his coated turned purely white and shined like the sun was reflecting on his coat.
Father and son entered the shadows and the portal closed. The ponies stared at the empty wall in disbelief. Twilight couldn't help herself, she bit her lip. “And so I lost another one of my friends. I always wanted for him to be happy and now he had the only happy moment in the second he was certain to get rid of his father. Both of them are banished in the shadows. None of them shall ever reappear. He did everything he dreamed of and more. He even saved Equestria and sacrificed his by doing this deed. It was like Light Chaser has only lived for seconds, but he already witnessed what love and to care about a pony meant. I think I can speak for all of us, if I say, we love you, Light Chaser... Our hero.”